Jasper's POV

I knew I was already late. The wall clock ticked, reminding me that every second i wasted at home wasn't working in my favour.

My shoes, I had no idea where it was. My tie was hanging loosely on my neck, with my coffee which had turned cold on the bedside drawer.

The bedroom door swung open, and Mia walked in.

"Jasper," Mia whined, already in full glam like we weren't living in a panic. "I need to go shopping today. I'm out of perfume."

I exhaled deeply, running my fingers through my hair. Not again.

"And that Chanel bag dropped this morning-limited stock." She said, holding it in her hand.

I rubbed a hand down my face. "Mia, not now. Please I'm already late."

"You're always late," she muttered, arms crossed around her chest. "Maybe if you stopped stressing so much, your face wouldn't look like a crumpled suit stuffed in a laundry basket."

My phone buzzed on the table for the third time in a row. It was a call from someone at Work.

I picked up without checking the caller ID. "Yeah, I'll be there in five," I lied.

Another call came in from the same line. I answered with gritted teeth. "Just settle it. Tell them I'll go through it when I get there."

"Sir, they're refusing to sign without your approval." He informed me.

I hung up and threw the phone onto the couch cushion, letting out a growl from the pit of my chest. This day was going to kill me, I just knew it.

I reached for my tie again but Mia was still hovering like a cloud of rain waiting to fall.

"So. can I go?" she asked sweetly. "Please...please....please."

"Go," I barked then quickly lowered my voice, "Go. I'll sort it out later. Just-" I leaned in and kissed her cheek, grabbing my keys. "I have to go. We'll talk when I get back."

I didn't wait for her reply. The door slammed behind me like it was angry too.

At the office....

I barely stepped into the building before Terrence ran up to me, sweat dotting at his collar.

"Sir, the contractors left just now. They waited for over an hour."

"What?" My voice echoed across the marble lobby. "Why did you allow them to leave?"

"They said they had other appointments."

"Goddamn it." I threw my briefcase down on the receptionist's desk. "That was a fifty-million-dollar deal!"

Terrence stepped back. "Should I-"

"No," I snapped. "I'll call them myself. Where are the files from yesterday?"

He blinked repeatedly. "The ones you took home?"

I cursed under my breath. "Shit. Get Michael from security. Tell him to head to my house and pick up the folder on the kitchen island. Now."

As he ran off, I stormed into my office and instantly regretted showing up today. There was no coffee, the trash bin was overflowing with papers.

Desk looked like a crime scene. And to top it off, no Freya.

She would've had the files color-coded, my coffee steaming hot with exactly one sugar cube, and those contractors still waiting in the damn lobby.

I slumped into my chair, the leather groaning with me. My phone lit up again-emails, messages, pings. I started barking orders as each staff popped their head into the office.

"Put that report on my desk."

"No, don't ask me stupid questions-just fix it!"

"If I see one more memo without a signature, I'm firing someone today." I yelled, pouring out my frustrations on all of them.

By 11AM, I felt like I'd aged twenty more years. I had a business meeting downtown in thirty minutes, and I hadn't even reviewed the agenda. I was halfway through an urgent email when my office line rang again.

"Finance," the voice chirped too cheerfully. "Hi Mr. Jasper we just wanted to alert you that your company card has been temporarily frozen due to suspicious charges. Over twenty thousand spent this morning on miscellaneous luxury items."

My jaw locked. "Who the hell-?"

"We believe it's from your linked secondary user. Would you like to investigate it?"

I didn't even get the chance to answer before my personal phone buzzed. It was Mia.

Of course, who else would it be?

I picked it up, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Yes?"

"They said the card's frozen," she said, frustration lacing every word. "I was trying to get something and it just declined. Do you know how embarrassing that is for me?"

"You spent over twenty grand in three hours."

"I've been using it all month! No one said anything."

"I'm not in the mood, Mia. Go home. I'll fix it when I get back."

"Jasper-"

I ended the call before she could start yelling. My head was pounding, my chest tight. Everything was noise, and annoying.

I stood up too fast, knocking over a pile of papers. Some fell to the ground, others fell in the waste bin beside my desk. I didn't care. All I needed air.

My eyes looked at the clock. I had fifteen minutes to get to that meeting and look like I had my life together.

"Fuck it," I muttered, picking up the most important-looking papers and shoving them into my briefcase. I tossed one crumpled report into the bin and stormed out.

Halfway down the hallway, a thought struck me like a bolt.

Wait-what was that paper I tossed?

Something itched in my brain. I turned back cause I knew I'd regret it if I didn't.

Back in my office, I crouched down and started going through the overflowing bin. Crumpled sticky notes. An old coffee cup. Yesterday's newspaper. A pen I thought I'd lost.

And then-my fingers brushed the edge of something smoother. It was an envelope

It wasn't marked. Just my name scrawled in black ink across the front.

A letter to Alpha Jasper.

Where did this come from?

Jasper's POV

I don't even know why I decided to go back and sort through the trash. Finally, I found the paper, and the envelope which was addressed to me.

Confused as to why a letter for me was in the trash, tore it open and its content was in Freya's handwriting. Even though her scent was faint, I could still smell it and my wolf stirred within me.

"Jasper, if you're reading this, it means you've found the truth which i couldn't bring myself to say out loud. I may have already lost you to her, but I need you to know-I never betrayed you. Everything they said about me wasn't true."

I felt like I was being punched in the gut as my eyes ran from one side of the paper to the other. My wolf stirred within me.

"I loved you, even when you wouldn't look at me. I waited, hoping you'd see the truth, but you didn't. You believed her. I hope one day you realize I was only ever trying to protect you."

My wolf snapped inside me, furious and pacing like a caged beast. Not at Freya but at my stupid self.

I felt sick and stupid. I hit myself severally on the head like that would undo every hurtful word that I had said to her. The heartbreak I had made her suffer.

How did I let this happen? How did I not see the truth for what it truly was?

My phone that was in my pocket kept ringing, I knew it was from the meeting. At this point, I didn't care about anything else.

Why the hell was this in the trash? That wasn't the main question. Who threw it in the trash?

And just like that, her name rang in my head-Mia. She was the only one who could do something like this.

I couldn't think nor could I sit down. The meeting I had to attend was no longer important to me. All I needed were answers. I needed to see her face when I asked.

I didn't even bother to take the car. I walked very fast and was angry. My blood boiling as the streets blurred past me. The letter in my pocket was a reminder of how stupid I had been.

By the time I reached the house, my fists were clenched at my sides. The door was unlocked.

And the first thing I heard was Mia's voice-laughing with someone over the phone.

I just stood by the door, and that's when I heard her clearly.

".I made it look like she ruined my birthday party," she said, chuckling on the phone. "Jasper totally bought it. I mean, come on, she never stood a chance. I made sure he spent the whole weekend with me instead."

I couldn't move. My breath seized when I heard those words. I had to place an arm on the wall in order to support myself.

"She was so desperate," Mia went on, still laughing. "Then she left the pack and poof-problem solved. He never even questioned it. God, I'm so good at scheming."

My jaw clenched so hard. Rage curled in my gut like a storm waiting to unleash itself.

I stormed into the room and Mia turned, surprised and scared to see me. The color drained from her face as soon as our eyes met.

"Jasper." she whispered. "Honey, I didn't know you were-"

"Is it true?" My voice came out low and sharp.

She blinked. "What. what do you mean?"

I pulled the letter from my pocket and threw it on the table. "Is it true!" I yelled, chest heaving. "What did you do?"

She began to shake with fear.

"You framed her?" I walked towards her. "You lied to me? You made me think Freya was the villain this whole time-is it true?"

Mia stammered, backing up a bit, out of harm's way. "I. I didn't mean-Jasper, please, just let me explain-"

"You threw away her letter," I cut her off. "You made sure I never saw it. You made sure I hated her when you were the one behind everything."

"I was scared!" she cried. "You were falling for her, and she's not your mate-I am!"

"I don't care about the bond anymore!" I snapped. "Freya was the one that was there for me when everything was falling apart. Where was my supposed mate when I couldn't breathe?

"Jasper, please." She begged.

"When I didn't even know who I was anymore-she was the one who stayed. You were nowhere to be found."

"But I'm here now," she said softly, stepping closer. "We can start again, Jasper. I made a mistake. I know that. But we can fix this together."

"No." I yelled. "I'm not making the same mistake again," I said, voice steady. "I let you manipulate me. I let you turn me against someone who loved me selflessly. But I see you now for who you truly are."

Tears filled her eyes. Bullshit! All crocodile tears. "Jasper-"

"I, Alpha Jasper of the Silverstone Pack," I said coldly, "reject you, Mia, as my mate today, right here right now."

She gasped, like I'd struck her hard across the face. The bond snapped between us like a whip-something ancient and spiritual shattering inside.

"I don't ever want to see your face again."

"Please," she sobbed, falling to her knees. "Don't do this-"

But I was already walking away, out of the door and away from her.

Away from the lies, the manipulation. the guilt that tore at my heart.

My heart felt like it was being shattered into pieces. Every step hurt, but I didn't stop.

I'd turned my back on the only person who ever saw me for who I really was. And now I had to find her.

Even if she would never forgive me. Even if she was not going to talk to me.

I had to try.

Jasper stared at his phone, his heart pounding hard in his chest. He'd let Mia make his judgement, now he was paying dearly for it.

He called her severally, but every time the call dropped it said: Number unreachable.

She had blocked him. Why wouldn't she? After what he'd done to her, she had every right to do so.

Mia was still there, shedding fake tears. The mere sight of her made him want to lose his cool, but that wasn't important. Freya first then he'd handle her later.

"Jasper, please." She pleaded. "I'm your true mate, not her." She tried to touch him, but he glanced at her coldly, making it known that she needed to be steps away from him.

His wolf was howling within him out of anger and respite. Not at Freya, but at him all because of his foolishness. He had believed Mia. He had pushed Freya away when she begged to be believed. And now it was too late.

"No. it can't be," he whispered.

He rose up and ran outside. "You!" Jasper snapped. "I need your phone." he ordered.

The guard, startled, quickly brought out his phone and handed it over without asking why.

With shaky hands, Jasper quickly typed in Freya's number. It rang for a bit until it dropped. At least he knew the number was going through so he tried it again. His heart nearly stopped after the third ring.

Then-she answered. "Hello?" Her voice was quiet, cautious. He didn't speak, just looking at the phone.

"Hello, who's this please?"

"Freya," he called, his voice low. "It's Jasper." He announced like she was supposed to be excited that he'd called.

There was a long pause. He could feel the coldness in the silence.

"I know you don't want to talk to me," he rushed out. "But I found your letter. It was in the trash can at the office. Mia lied about everything. I just found out that she set you up, Freya. I didn't know. I swear, I didn't know-"

"Stop," Freya cut in sharply. His hands froze.

"You've done what you wanted, You're with Mia now so stop bothering me."

"Freya, please." He was on the verge of tearing up. "I had no idea, I should have never cast you out. I should have believed you when-"

"It's too late, Jasper," she cut him off. She was tired. "It's too late for any of this."

"No, please, Frey, don't do this to me-"

"The part of me that loved you?" she said, her voice hard. "It's dead, and buried alongside the past memories we shared. And I hope it never comes back." The line went dead.

Jasper stood there, phone in hand, staring into space. The pain hit him hard. He had truly lost her.

Back at Freya's........

Freya let the phone fall to the floor. Tears were welling up in the corner of her eyes, but she quickly wiped them off. Crying over someone who treated her like trash was useless.

She said what needed to be said. It still hurts. Her fragile heart was still broken in many pieces, but she'd learn to live with the pain. Her wolf was right here with her, that's all that matters.

She turned back to the last box she was unpacking. Her new house was small and quiet, but it was hers. It was a fresh start where there would be no more pain, no more lies, no more Jasper and no more Mia.

Freya lost the urge to unpack. She put her dress on the bed, and went to stand in front of the mirror, observing herself. Her eyes were still red from the nights when she'd cried herself to bed.

"Freya, please." His words were still in her head. No, she shouldn't think about him.

That letter, why did she even put it there? She'd have let him continue living his lie, but the deed had been done.

"You did the right thing, Freya." Her wolf said to her. "Don't think about him-

Then, all of a sudden, her wolf growled softly inside her. Not out of anger-but something else. An Alert. A strange feeling came over her and her heart beat faster.

Then. she caught a scent. It was Woodsy, deep, rich and masculine. She looked around frantically for what wasn't lost.

It wasn't Jasper. That was for sure. It was someone new, and her wolf was eager to find out who it was.

Her wolf purred, clawing at her chest like it was trying to reach something outside. Pushing her towards the door.

Freya froze. Her eyes widened. She looked toward the window but didn't see anyone. Still, the scent was stronger now, and it was getting closer.

Without thinking, she pulled open the door and rushed outside, looking around for the person who was making her wolf jump.

Then she saw him. A man. Tall, strong, and beautiful in a way that stole her breath. He looked just as shocked to see her. His golden eyes locked onto hers, and he stopped in his tracks.

She couldn't move. Neither could he.

The air between them felt different, like something very powerful was holding them together.

Her heart was beating fast against her chest. Her wolf was jumping and howling inside her, full of joy.

The man took one step closer to her, and she did too. And at the same time, they both whispered the same word.

"Mate."